It’s no surprise that businessman Donald Trump is your front-runner of choice. Of all the responses we received to this month’s question, he got nearly 80 percent of your votes. A few of our readers threw former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee and former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina into the mix as an either-or with Trump, but the former “Celebrity Apprentice” host would be the clear winner if the election were held today and members of the wall and ceiling industry were voting.
In the end, retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Ben Carson, junior United States Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders and “any Republican” each got less than 1 percent of the vote. And when you read the comments that follow, you might have to concede that the vote for Sanders isn’t really much of a vote of confidence.
Not everyone who responded gave us their reasons why they would vote for a particular candidate, but here is what some of you said about your candidate of choice.
John Stinson, president at Atlas Drywall in Myrtle Beach, S.C., calls Trump “an experienced job creator” who “knows how to get our economy moving again.” He adds that the current administration seems to be anti–small business and acknowledges that “Trump is a loud mouth, but he is an accomplished capitalist.”
Then there’s Bruce Brown of Asars Inc., Atlanta’s Stucco Remediation Company, who said he has no doubt Trump is the man. “He’s a business man and he has spoken over and over about making the U.S. a thriving economy again and I believe him,” Brown says.
A lot of you simply like Trump because he is a businessman and not a politician—a refreshing change for some. The following responses were submitted anonymously:
- “Donald Trump. Give somebody a chance who’s never been in politics. He knows construction.”
- “Trump or any other candidate who hasn’t been in government more than a couple of years who can actually stand up to the bull that is coming out of Washington and most public entities these days.”
- “Elected politicians aren’t getting it done. It’s time a business man gets his chance.”
- “Trump. He is a developer. He understands what the industry does and what it needs to be successful.”
One person who expressed an anonymous answer is a fan of Trump but has doubts about his appeal across the globe. This reader says it’s “a tossup between Huckabee and Trump. Huckabee is probably the clear winner over the long haul for I fear Trump will damage worldwide relations. Huckabee has a clear, unwavering stance and I believe he is not blowing smoke just to get elected. He wants to make America great by building off of strong principles that have worked in the past.”
Finally, one commenter seems to think it’s a no-brainer judging by this response: “Trump. Because, Trump.”
Only one “Sanders for President” fan expressed an opinion, anonymously: “The margin between the candidates is razor thin on this, but Bernie holds the best potential at destroying what is left of this country in the shortest amount of time. Then when we rebuild from the rubble, we will have some work to do.”
Lastly, one reader would be happy if any of the current Republican candidates becomes the next president of the United States. This person believes that “construction is based on a need with financial backing to make it happen,” and with a Republican sitting in the Oval Office, “there will be less financial backing with the constant call for ‘Wealth Distribution.’”
We’ve still got more than a year before the elections, so as the crowd of candidates thins over the next several months (It can’t grow anymore, can it?), we will be asking this question of our readers again prior to the election to see if your thoughts have changed.
Submit your comments here.
